The present invention relates to a lectern that is collapsible and made portable in the form of a carrying case or attache case for containing and transporting papers and other materials normally carried in an attache case.
Lecterns are generally used by speakers to hold a variety of papers, documents and notes to aid the speaker in delivering a speech. Thus, the effectiveness of a speech can depend to a large extent on the materials that the speaker must use or refer to during the course of his delivery. Any material that a speaker must use or refer to, then, is generally carried or transported by means of a separate carrying case. Moreover, lecterns are not always readily available to a speaker, especially if the speaker must travel to various locations to informally deliver a speech.
Many designs have been offered in the prior art to provide for lectern portability. However, most of the designs are either too cumbersome and bulky in nature, too complicated to set up and take down, or do not possess the necessary strength or rigidity to effectively make the lectern collapsible and portable. Moreover, the designs and structures are lacking for providing a compact carrying case with sufficient space to transport materials normally contained in an attache case in an efficient manner. Such disclosures can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,120, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,787 and Design U.S. Pat. No. 306,535.
What is needed, then, is a lectern that can accommodate both functions, that is, provide a structure or apparatus that is quick and easy to deploy and take down, and at the same time utilize the same structure or apparatus for efficiently transporting and storing the materials used by the speaker.